Forum of the Saxes

kirbay · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 30

hiya,

i have those gig bags for my tenor sax and today i dropped it but not high up it just fell off my hand and bam onto the ground... and well i just tried it and some of the notes don't work properly... <=( yes i know, i'm an idiot... now i don't know how screwed i am yet... my teacher will probably kill me and my mom will kill me even more... i can play some notes though and i could play scales but only through one whole breath. do you think it's really really bad?? x_x like around how much to repair...

Bariman · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:51 pm Post subject:

It's probably just severely out of adjustment, which will only take a hour or two and 20-30 bucks at a shop to get right. If you don't see any obvious deformities, that should be all.

Bariman
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Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

kirbay · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 30

yes! ^_^ i feel so much better! thank you! ^_^ i love this forum... =D yeah, the sax looked normal =D i'm so happy! ^_^

Bariman · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 4:56 pm Post subject:

You'd be suprised how bad a sax can play when out of adjustment. Likewise, it makes a world of difference when you get a really good once-over from a good tech. You'll realize how much you've been compensating for the horn's problems.

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

kirbay · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 30

oh,

oh and i was wondering, how and why does it go out of adjustment? O_o lol and like what's unadjusting... sorry, i'm new to this stuff =O

JPSaxMan · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:46 pm Post subject:

Are there any visible signs of damage? If the answer is either yes or no, it needs to go to a tech. The pads mighta gotten knocked outta whack in the fall, rods mighta snapped, ribs might have gotten knocked out of alignment. It needs to be fixed...pronto.

And no, you're not an idiot. It was an accident, and I'm sure it's happened to every pro at least once Confused

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JP
Student of Saxophone
Music Education (BME) Major-2011
Mansfield University of Pennsylvania

Bariman · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 5:47 pm Post subject:

When a sax is in proper adjustment, the pad seals totally over the tonehole when the key is depressed. Sometimes, a leak developes, or the timing of the individual key action gets out of sync. Some keys are complicated, like the octave mechanism linkage, which can frequently get out of adjustment, while others are fairly simple, like the low C for example.

Bariman
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Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

kirbay · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 30

uh what do you mean by leak? like my spit coming out of the holes and going onto my hand... cause that happened before i dropped it and it grosses me out =P

Bariman · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2005 7:52 pm Post subject:

Nah, not exactly. A leak occurs when a pad on the underside of a saxophone key is not sealing all the way to the lip of the tonehole. Sometimes you can see the gap, sometimes with the aid of a leak light, and occasionally you'll get one that isn't really that big, but is causing a problem. An easy fix for a tech.

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

kirbay · Joined: 03 Dec 2005 Posts: 30

it turned out that i had a ripped pad or something lol... well i have to bring it to teh shop on the weekend and get it checked up/fixed! ^_^ i'm happy... my teacher is going to try and find a sax so that i could use for band practice tommorow =D thank you for all your help! =D

Bariman · Posted: Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:24 pm Post subject:

Good to hear, glad it worked out.

Bariman
_________________
Resident Conn Aficionado, Baritone Saxophonist
Currently Moderating 'Vintage Horns', and the Usergroup for Bari Saxophonists!

Jordan-Martin · Joined: 07 Feb 2006 Posts: 40 Location: Aberdeen

you're lucky, i don't think my two music shops repair saxophones Sad

JazZz · Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 170

I had the same trouble a while back...

When I had started and was just a wee saxophone player my parents got me a gig bag. I really wanted a flighttech conforming case, and by the picture it looked like a gig bag. The guy at the store even guaranteed my parents that they would protect the same amount. My parents, not knowing anything better believed him. Well, i bring it to school and put it in the storage room. The first day BAM, my sax fell right off the storage rack. Luckily all I had was a dent in the bell. It happened a few more times, and all I sustained was a few dents in the bell.
This was in 6th grade keep in mind. And I did not actually drop it, other kids would move their instrument and mine would fall and they would put it back up.